Savor the authentic flavors and explore the rich culinary heritage of Vietnam. Try out these tasty Vietnamese recipes that, with one bite, will surely transport you to the bustling streets and enchanting landscapes of this Southeast Asian gem.

Beef Pho

Serves 4 | Preparation Time 20 minutes | Cooking Time 8 hours

Ingredients

• 4 pounds beef soup bones
• 1 large onion, unpeeled, halved
• 5 thumbs fresh ginger, cleaned and peeled
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 2 pods star anise
• 2 ½ tablespoons fish sauce
• 4 quarts water
• 1 8-ounce package dried rice noodles
• 1 ½ pounds beef sirloin, very thinly sliced
• ½ cup cilantro, chopped
• Green onion, chopped
• 1 ½ cups bean sprouts
• Thai basil
• 4 wedges fresh lime
• Hoisin sauce, Sriracha, and Nước Mắm (Fish Sauce)

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 425°F.
2. Arrange the beef bones and onion on a baking sheet and bake for 1 hour, removing the onion after about 45 minutes. It should be roasted but soft.
3. Remove the bones after about 1 hour, or when they are nicely browned.
4. Pour 4 quarts of water into a large pot. Add the bones, onion, ginger, salt, star anise, and fish sauce. Bring to a boil.
5. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 6 to 10 hours. Strain the broth into another pot and set it aside.
6. Soak the rice noodles in lukewarm water for 1 hour.
7. Transfer the pre-soaked noodles to a pot of boiling water. Continue boiling for one minute. Drain the noodles and distribute them among the serving bowls.
8. Reheat the broth to a simmer.
9. Meanwhile, top the noodles in the bowls with the raw sirloin, cilantro, and green onion.
10. Pour the hot broth into bowls. Wait for beef to “cook” in the broth and lose its pink coloring. This will take a few minutes.
11. Serve with bean sprouts, Thai basil, and lime wedges. Offer hoisin sauce, sriracha and/or Nước Mắm (fish sauce) as condiments.

Vietnamese Crepe (Banh Xeo)

Serves 6 | Preparation Time 20 minutes | Cooking Time 15 minutes

Ingredients

For Dipping Sauce

• ¼ cup nuoc mam, or fish sauce
• ¼ cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon lime juice
• Hot sauce or hot peppers, finely chopped
• For crepes
• 1 ¼ cups rice flour
• 1 ¼ cup carbonated mineral water
• 2 eggs
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• ½ teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1 tablespoon cooking oil

For Filling

• ½ pound raw medium shrimp, cleaned, shelled, and halved
• ½ pound lean pork, sliced into thin strips
• Black pepper, ground
• 2 tablespoons nuoc mam or fish sauce
• 1 tablespoon cooking oil
• 2 bags bean sprouts, cleaned and drained
• 1 bunch of scallions, diced
• 1 cup straw mushrooms, cleaned and diced
• Optional toppings
• Basil, lettuce, cucumber, mint, chili sauce

Directions

1. Combine the fish sauce, sugar, lime juice, and hot sauce or peppers to make the dipping sauce. Adjust the proportions according to taste, and set aside.
2. In a bowl, mix the rice flour, mineral water, eggs, salt, sugar, and turmeric together and let stand for 10 minutes.
3. Season the pork and shrimp with black pepper and fish sauce.
4. Heat the cooking oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Sauté pork and shrimp until the pork is no longer pink.
5. Mix the bean sprouts, scallions, and mushrooms in with the sautéed pork and shrimp in the skillet, and set it aside.
6. Heat a wok over medium-high heat. Swirl 1 tablespoon of oil in the wok. Pour about half a cup of crepe batter into the pan and swirl to make a thin crepe.
7. When the crepe begins to sizzle and bubble, spoon in about 2 teaspoons of the filling.
8. When the edges of the crepe begin to pull away from the wok and the underside is a nice golden brown, fold the crepe over.
9. Remove from the pan and repeat until all the ingredients are used. Serve garnished with a choice or mixture of basil, lettuce, cucumber, or mint, with chili sauce on the side.

Fresh Spring Rolls

Serves 8 | Preparation Time 45 minutes | Cooking Time 5 minutes

Ingredients

Fish sauce mixture

• 4 teaspoons fish sauce
• ¼ cup water
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons white sugar
• ½ teaspoon garlic chili sauce

Hoisin Sauce Mixture

• 3 tablespoons hoisin sauce
• 1 teaspoon peanuts, finely chopped

Filling

• 2 ounces rice vermicelli
• 8 8 ½-inch diameter rice wrappers
• 8 large cooked shrimp, peeled, deveined, and halved
• 1 1/3 tablespoons fresh Thai basil, chopped
• 3 tablespoons fresh mint leaves, chopped
• 3 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped
• 2 leaves lettuce, chopped

Directions

1. In a small bowl, prepare the fish sauce mixture by combining the fish sauce, water, lime juice, garlic, white sugar, and chili sauce. Set aside.
2. In a separate small bowl, prepare the hoisin mixtures by combining the hoisin sauce and peanuts. Set aside.
3. Cook the rice vermicelli in boiling water for about 5 minutes or until al dente. Drain well.
4. To prepare the rice paper, wet one or two pieces at a time by soaking them in warm water for one second, to make them pliable.
5. Lay a wrapper flat on a plate. At the center of the wrapper, arrange 2 shrimp halves, about ⅓ cup of vermicelli, and pinches of basil, mint, cilantro, and lettuce. Leave a 2-inch allowance on the sides. Fold in the two sides and then roll from the bottom end upwards to make a roll.
6. Repeat to make more rolls.
7. Serve with fish and hoisin sauce mixtures as condiments.

Vietnamese Chicken Curry (Ca Ri Ga)

Serves 6-8 | Preparation Time 10 minutes | Cooking Time 35 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon peanut oil (or any cooking oil)
• 1 large stem lemon grass, pale section only, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 thumbs fresh ginger, finely chopped2 tablespoons mild curry powder
• 2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled, cut into 1 ½-inch cubes
• 1 medium carrot, peeled, julienne
• 2 14-ounce cans coconut milk
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 3 bay leaves
• 1 ½ pounds boneless chicken breast, cut into 1 ½-inch pieces
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 2 teaspoons fish sauce
• ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• Fresh cilantro sprigs, for garnish

Directions

1. In a wok, heat the oil over medium heat. Add lemongrass, garlic, and ginger, and cook until fragrant.
2. Stir in the curry powder, sweet potato, carrots, coconut milk, chicken stock, and bay leaves.
3. Bring the mixture to a boil and simmer until the vegetables are tender about 25 minutes.
4. Add the chicken and continue cooking until the chicken is done, for about 7 minutes.
5. Stir in the sugar, fish sauce, and pepper. Adjust the flavor with seasonings, as needed.
6. Serve garnished with cilantro. Best with rice or baguette.

Chicken and Mint Salad

Serves 4 | Preparation Time 10 minutes

Ingredients

For dressing

• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 ½ tablespoons lime juice
• 1 ½ tablespoons fish sauce (nuoc nam)
• 1 ½ tablespoons rice wine vinegar
• 1 Thai chili, seeded and minced
• 1 large clove garlic, minced
• 1 ½ tablespoons vegetable oil
• ½ medium onion, finely sliced
• Black pepper

For salad

• 3 cups cabbage, shredded
• 1 medium carrot, shredded
• 8 ounces cooked chicken breasts, cut into very fine strips
• 1½ cups fresh mint leaves

Directions

1. To prepare the dressing, whisk together the sugar, lime juice, fish sauce, and first rice wine vinegar, in a medium-sized bowl.
2. Add the chili, garlic, vegetable oil, onion, and pepper, and whisk well. Let stand for at least 30 minutes for the flavors to meld.
3. Combine the cabbage, carrot, chicken, and mint leaves in a large bowl.
4. Add the dressing and toss thoroughly, to distribute the flavor.
5. Adjust flavor with salt and pepper, if needed.

Beef Bánh Mì

Serves 4 | Preparation Time 20 minutes, plus 1 hour for pickling and 30 minutes for marinating | Cooking Time 10 minutes

Ingredients

Pickled vegetables

• 2 tablespoons sugar, divided
• 1 teaspoon salt, divided
• 1 medium carrot, peeled and julienned
• 4 ounces daikon radish, julienned
• ¼ cup rice vinegar

Steak Filling

• 2 tablespoons fish sauce
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons peanut oil
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 teaspoons sesame oil
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper
• 1 pound flank steak

Bread and garnishes

• 4 sandwich rolls or French baguettes, halved lengthwise
• ¼ cup mayonnaise
• ⅓ cup Vietnamese chicken liver pâté
• ½ cucumber, cut into sticks
• 12 cilantro sprigs
• 1 hot red pepper, thinly sliced (optional)

Directions

1. Prepare the pickled vegetables in advance (at least an hour before). Combine 1 tablespoon of sugar and ½ teaspoon of salt, and toss with the daikon and carrot. Let them soak for 10 minutes, or until the vegetables become pliable.
2. Rinse with cold water and drain well. While the veggies are draining, combine the remaining sugar and salt with vinegar in a jar with a lid. Allow to stand until all the granules have dissolved.
3. Soak the vegetables in the vinegar solution for 1 hour or longer, up to 2 days. Turn the bottle over, if needed, to ensure even absorption. Drain well.
4. Whisk together the fish sauce, soy sauce, peanut oil, sugar, sesame oil, and garlic. Marinade the flank steak in this mixture for at least 30 minutes.
5. Preheat the oven to 400°F.
6. Drain the marinade and sear the beef in a skillet over medium-high heat for 2 minutes on both sides.
7. Transfer to the heated oven, and cook for 5-8 minutes or until medium-rare.
8. Allow it to cool, and then cut it into thin slices.
9. To assemble the sandwich, spread all the cut sides of the bread with mayonnaise.
10. Spread the bottom halves with pâté.
11. Layer according to your preferences with beef, cucumber, pickled vegetables, cilantro, and hot pepper (optional).

Pork Lemongrass Skewers (Nem Nuong Xa)

Serves 7-8 | Preparation Time 15 minutes plus 30 minutes marinating time | Cooking Time 15 minutes

Ingredients

• 7-8 lemongrasses stalks, hard outer layer removed
• 2 ¼ cups ground pork, about 1 pound
• 1 tablespoon lemongrass (white parts only), very finely minced
• 2 tablespoons tapioca starch
• 2 tablespoons peanut oil
• 1 ½ tablespoons fish sauce
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1 thumb ginger, peeled and finely grated
• ¼ cup spring onion, finely chopped
• 4 kaffir lime leaves, finely sliced
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• Oil for frying

Directions

1. The lemongrass stalks will serve as skewers, and there are 2 ways to prepare them. One way is to simply trim off the leaves and tops, and then cut to desired length. Alternatively, after cleaning and trimming, make cuts along about a third of the length of the stalk all around, and separate them with your fingers. The slots of lemongrass will hold the patty during frying or grilling. See the image below.
2. Combine the pork, white parts of the lemongrass, tapioca starch, peanut oil, fish sauce, honey, ginger, spring onion, and lime leaves in a large bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Beat or mix thoroughly to distribute the flavor evenly and until the mixture becomes sticky. Cover and let it marinate, refrigerated, for at least 30 minutes.
3. If you are using plain skewers, form the meat into patties. Place a lemongrass stalk at one end of the patty and roll it up, compressing to make the patty stick to the stalk. If you made slots in your lemongrass, stuff about 2 tablespoons into the space formed by the slits.
4. Heat enough oil to deep fry the skewers in a wok, and fry them until they are golden brown. Tongs or chopsticks are useful for turning the skewers over. They can also be grilled until the meat is done.
5. You may serve while on the skewers or remove the patties first, before serving.
6. Serve with rice as well as with various dipping sauces and condiments.

***These recipes and more can be found in Sarah Spencer’s Totally Vietnamese: Classic Vietnamese Recipes to Make at Home. To get your copy, click on the cover below or click here.

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